Devices are everywhere today. They have changed how we communicate, order food and taxi service, listen to music, take videos and photos, and the list goes on and on. In our yearly survey using the BrightBytes Clarity platform, 82% of our students have access to a smartphone, with that number jumps to 91% when you just look at high school students. My daughter Bailey is one of those students; this year she is a Sophomore at Omaha Central High School.

As a parent, I didn't grow up with this type of access to information. I grew up in a small town in Missouri. My mom would typically tell me to get out of the house and come home when the street lights came on. I would go out and play with my friends with little or no communication with my mom. I know for myself, this doesn't necessarily mimic what my kids have grown up with. Each of my kids got access to a cell phone at the age of 13, and no snapchat until they turn 18. This is our way of making a gradual release of opportunity with these devices. This doesn't come without some surprises.

At a volleyball tournament this year, I happened to see a pop up on Bailey's iPhone that read:
Your average screen time is up 22% and gave an average of over 6 hours per day. That is a quarter of the day even including hours of sleep! This also helped me to realize that I was likely modeling this behavior as well. So this tip may not be just for the kids out there.

How can you set this up?

Apple’s new Screen Time feature in iOS 12 makes it easy for parents to limit kids activity on their device and make their time on those devices more intentional. Here is how to start:
1. Open Settings on your child’s iPhone or iPad
​2. Tap Screen Time
3. The first time you open Screen Time, you’ll see a splash screen and choose the option to Set up as a Parent
4. Follow the prompts to customize Downtime, App Limits, Content & Privacy, and creating your Parent Passcode

I went back a couple of times to adjust the settings I originally set.Important: If you’d like to make any adjustments, you can always return to Settings → Screen Time

What were the settings I started with?

​Instead of trying to manage putting the phone physically in another room at night to charge, I set the downtime to:Downtime: 11pm - 4amApp Limits: Social Networking - 3 hr

​Note: It was also important to set to "Block at End of Limit"

Let's hear from Bailey

Is this a failsafe?

Absolutely not. I can tell you over the years, I’ve seen kids – including my own – do things that technology experts and consultants could not have done any better. I see this happen a lot in schools. Nothing is fail safe - but the important thing is awareness, for you and for them. Having an awareness allows you to empower your kids to make choices as they grow. These tools can help you have conversation and then begin to set adjustments to these powerful devices. Common Sense Media also provides great resources on how to limit screen time.

Learn about screen-time issues and recommendations. Let Common Sense Media help you navigate any questions you may have about setting screen-time limits.

Also again, let me reiterate: we as parents might be modeling this behavior. Our kids do much of what our actions teach them to do. Turn on the screen time feature on your device to track your screen time, too!

I love science fiction. Growing up, Star Trek and Star Wars were activities I looked forward to watching. In fact, even today, every time our family does "family paint night", I always paint something with a Star Wars character on it. Science fiction brings us a curiosity of what could be. Think about the technologies that are shown in the shows and movies of Star Trek. Some things seem really far off today, some not so much. That tele-communicator that Captain Kirk held in the series looks less futuristic than our new iPhones today.

Technology has a symptom of having exponential change. Just look at this list of the largest companies by market value. The differences between 2011 and 2017 are incredible. We are in the midst of a cultural shift in society. Which brings me to how do we prepare for this shift?

As an educator, how do we build a learning environment that prepares kids for jobs that don't exist?

We have to look at education as the vehicle for the future. That begins with the classroom and working our way up through the system. Recently, I led a session in our District Leadership Team meeting that focused on the classroom. We used a design thinking process to identify problems we see in the current classroom setup.

I started the empathy portion of the session with an experience in the HoloLens, an augmented reality device. Eileen Heller had some content that gave the user a flyover of today and present some history around Rome. To give everyone an experience, we wirelessly displayed the what the person saw on the large screen for everyone.

It was important for us to set the curiosity stage for what could be, just as watching Star Wars and Star Trek did for me as a kid. So we watched this video excerpt by Futurist Edie Weiner on the Future of Work at the Australia Summit 2018. Here is a link to the full video.

From there we went into a process of identifying some of the problems, empathize, the first part of the design thinking process. We watched two videos of classroom interactions, one very traditional, and one that was still traditional but involved some differences in classroom setup. We watched both videos for a couple of minutes and then filled out a Padlet of reflection questions:

Those reflections ended our first session. The second session was to define what could be. This was fun. We went through a series of questions, the first coming from an idea I got from the book, Humanizing the Education Machine.

The introduction of the smart phone, and particularly the iPhone had a profound impact on society. Combine that with the introduction of social media, and culture began to change because of communication. Each and every person gets this, because they personally relate to it.

We used this activity to help reflect on what the classroom characteristics should be. It was important not to begin to make suggestions as we still haven't progressed across the design thinking process yet. But some of the identified characteristics that we aligned to the same Pedagogical, Environment, Engagement activity we did in the empathy activity included:

I am in the process of creating our next activity for the ideate area of design thinking process. We will begin to think about space and time in the classroom. Space and Time is a gear of the Future Ready Framework that many states, districts, and schools align to.

This transition is made possible through innovative uses of technology for diagnostic, formative and summative assessments, for managing learning, for engaging students in learning, and for providing anywhere, anytime learning. Such transitions required districts to rethink and more effectively leverage the use of instructional time and space.

On the Book: Humanizing the Education Machine

This book helped me personally identify my own differences with my kids. It is so easy to say, "Well when I grew up..." Loved this quote from Chapter 10:

"Fact is, our kids live ​in the most intensely stimulating period in the history of the earth. They're being besieged with information and calls for their attention from every platform—from computers, from iPhones, from advertising hoardings, from hundreds of television channels and we're penalizing them now for getting distracted. "

Great book, here are my quotures from each chapter. Well worth the read to help ignite a spark to prepare our students for what is next.

Introduction

One chapter a day. That has been the challenge for this book and nineteen others. Many times it is easy, the focus is strong, and sometimes the chapter is like an eight-course meal, tough to get through. Throughout these books, we have started some processes and traditions. OneNote is used to create notes, most of which we type out particular phrases and highlights that influence and interest us. We also create what we call "quotures," the phrase(s) that stood out to us from each chapter. Then we tweet it sharing our experience with the greater community on our journey through each book.

This particular book is one of four books introduced to us by our new Superintendent, Dr. Cheryl Logan. Each book built upon the fundamentals of leadership, highlighting the importance of relationship building, but each being unique in their approach.

Rob's Perspective

Personally

In Chapter 3, Kim outlined superstars and rock stars. Immediately, I knew where I fit personally. If a challenge isn't there, I get bored. It has been a perspective that I have had for quite some time, and contributes to my learning growth. I have personal procedures and routines down and had to when we moved up to Omaha:

I go to sleep around 8:30 pm every night and wake at 4:30 am

Exercise every day

Spend time with family

Always read books and articles daily

This daily routine keeps me centered and focused. In Chapter 5, Kim brings all of that together: ​"Be relentlessly insistent on bringing your fullest and best self to work—and taking it back home again."
Work/Life balance for me is not realistic. It doesn't fit my personality or work ethic. Work-life integration as outlined in this book, more represents how I personally have approached it. This does present some challenges to the people that I lead, and will describe further below.

As a Leader

The last couple of books we have read have really emphasized the power of relationships in leadership. I love this quote from Jim Knight's Better Conversations book:

​Many times, especially in the technology environment of constant change, end users believe something is being done to them. Being a technology leader, I observe this from time to time. As we subscribe our collaboration services to cloud environments such as Microsoft, Google, etc., we relinquish some of that authority of change to whatever platform you utilize. Doesn't seem too empathetic, does it? It is so essential as leaders, no matter what industry you are in, to introduce empathy into your daily activity. It isn't easy. A couple of weeks ago right in the beginning of our ERP go-live, I decided to go to a location where a significant process change that would affect hundreds of users in that building, specifically first thing in the morning. I spent two hours each day assisting those users first hand, listening to them, and understanding their frustration through that change. I needed to do that to know where they were coming from. It helped me to explain to our project team more accurately and with more emphasis on where we needed to focus and to care about the effect of the change. Kim talks about caring quite a bit through the book is characterized by this quoture by Eileen with great clarity:

​The whole IMS team that I get the opportunity to lead is amazing. We do such great work. Probably one of my favorite memories just happened this week. At our principal's meeting, heavy agenda items were delivered through the meeting, but behind the scenes, our work was happening. The whole meeting agenda, presentations, etc. were being handled in Microsoft Teams for the first time, and incredible data dashboards were being shown the last agenda. We were behind the scenes of all of it. As a department, I couldn't be happier with our progress. We have an incredible staff, and their effort shows as it is weaved throughout everything we do as a district. Kim says it right in Chapter 1:

An interactive look at our technology progress from the video reflection

Eileen's Perspective

Kimball Scott had a special section in "Radical Candor" for "How to Use this Book" and explained that it provided a step-by-step approach for building Radically Candid relationships with your direct reports. I don't have any direct reports. My view going into this book will be very different from Rob's. I looked back on my life for a time that I had direct reports as a boss and other than a random management role at McDonald's in high school and a summer camp manager role in college, I had no experience as a boss. Scott shared in the book that your key responsibility as a boss is: to guide your team to achieve results. When I was part way through the book, I realized many of the strategies she provided aligned to my role as a teacher with my direct reports being my students. I couldn't hire nor fire them, but there are a number of similarities to what she suggests to get someone to perform at their best. Specifically she shared strategies for building relationships to get to know each direct report personally. To find out what motivates them. She suggested having one-on-one conversations about their lives to see where big life changes occurred as that was a window into what motivates them. As you learn more about them, you can do goal setting with them and provide feedback. These are all strategies a classroom teacher employs when working with students to perform. The skills gained as a teacher does not guarantee the aptitude to be an effective boss, but it does give a level of experience that can translate.

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 3:To keep a team cohesive, you need both rock stars and superstars, she explained.
Rock stars are solid as a rock.
Superstars, on the other hand, need to be challenged and given new opportunities to grow constantly.
This statement really made me explore my role on our instructional technology training team. I shifted back and forth on if I would be a "rockstar" or a "superstar". There is great value in both on a team. I know that I like to be challenged and given new opportunities to grow, but I also know I'm solid on my focus to stay on our team. I'm not looking for opportunities outside of it yet in the short term 3-5 or even 10 years. When I look further, I wonder if I would like an opportunity to grow beyond and serve in a role with direct reports? She did state, "Not every superstar wants to manage." This year I was accepted into a leadership cohort in our district called LAUNCH that provides opportunities to learn skills needed for a role in administration. I felt this book was a good first tiptoe into that world. It gave practical examples, allowed me to look at what the role of a boss entails, and assured me that no matter how hard or lonely it may feel, it can also be greatly rewarding. I'm not sure where I will land in the future, but for now I will stay curious and seek growth.

From every book we have had a chance to read, it has created a deep space of reflection. I look for ways it connects to my past, current, and future life. I notice little nuggets of each book guiding how I handle situations. In the video below, I share a story of two scenarios that the strategies in Radical Candor helped me through this week. Specifically how Kimball Scott explains being "radically candid":

"Radical Candor™ is the ability to Challenge Directly and show you Care Personally at the same time. Radical Candor will help you and all the people you work with do the best work of your lives and build the best relationships of your career."

Conclusion

Relationships are core to the learning process and are woven into every classroom in Omaha Public Schools. It is no different in the workplace. This book provides excellent insight into the power of that engagement and what steps you can take as a leader or any other position you encompass. The best part of this book is the experience Kim Scott brings to the table, her accomplishments and what she sees as her challenges. A great read for anyone, in any position.

Feedback loops are extremely important in any sized organization. In education, and particularly in the classroom, we use them to check and affirm understanding that is manageable and focused on our learning targets. In leadership, these loops provide specific, non-evaluative feedback information to assist in decision making processes.

​In Omaha Public Schools, one of the foundational programs for collaboration is Microsoft Teams. I have posted previously about Microsoft Teams and won’t go into its power to utilize the power of conversation through the use of artifacts.

I chose to write about collaboration because of its increasing usage in our everyday space. Society is changing. My kids interact with a much larger circle of influence than I did growing up. Digital literacy and social media is an inseparable and powerful combination.

Within this platform, two applications come to mind when it comes to interacting with feedback. The first is Microsoft Forms. Forms allow just about any user to create a user friendly, mobile ready, form that outputs into an Excel Online spreadsheet. Feature rich, it allows for branching, adding artifacts to questions such as videos and pictures, and real time results. Teachers can use it for quizzes, formative assessments, and surveys. You can take this experience one step further by utilizing Microsoft Flow to extend it’s capabilities. ​

As you can see above, I have extended two particular form capabilities with Microsoft Flow. One feeds multiple email lists based upon the drop down selection used in the form to direct the recipient of the form information. The other flow transports the form information to multiple entities based upon the needs identified within the form. Check out the form templates that are already available and ready to setup via Microsoft Flow.

Microsoft Forms is a new part of Office 365 Education that allows teachers and students to quickly and easily create custom quizzes, surveys, questionnaires, registrations and more.

Flipgrid it.

Next is my favorite. If you want to take feedback to another level, look no further than Flipgrid. A couple of months ago, Microsoft purchased the platform and made it free to everyone. A media rich platform, Flipgrid offers the ability to gather feedback via video. As a tool for teaching modern communication skills, Flipgrid is nothing short of brilliant. Students can watch and hear themselves, and they’re in complete control–they can re-record themselves as many times as they want before they upload their response to the grid. This summer I decided to engage our Verizon Innovative Schools with a Flipgrid to share the experience of using an iPad exclusively as their primary device for the whole week. ​

Flipgrid is where social and emotional learning happens! The leading video discussion platform for millions of PreK to PhD educators, students, and families.

As you can see by my Flipgrid above, everything presented in an organized grid – which makes it highly visual, easy to navigate, and assess. Using video makes the participants engage differently, in a way that makes you think about thinking. Utilizing the social media talents of our society today, it breathes new life into typically a mundane process. What can I say but that I have the Flipgrid Fever. Using the two above tools, you can boost production of feedback loops to provide the necessary information for your classroom or district.

​Device experiences have come a long way. I remember back in the day before the proliferation of wifi, our laptops were just large heavy bricks and had to be wired or hooked in to dial up to get internet. With the introduction of wifi, cellular data, and mobile devices with modern operating systems that with a moments touch can install a treasure trove of apps that can do everything from ordering your favorite food, Starbucks coffee, and listen to the latest music released as it comes out, our experience on devices have changed. We expect specific experiences out of the gate. As technologies evolve with artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Internet of Things, and increased bandwidth with 5G rolling out next year, the inputs by which we interact will differ significantly. We will speak more to our devices, and we will gesture more, our visible landscapes will be augmented with artifacts to assist us. In a previous blog post, I explain my movement from mac to surface platform; this was a transition mostly due to the desire to digital ink. That input created for me the ability to bring context to content and amplify my use of OneNote.

Digital Inking isn't new. I remember in the mid 90's messing with an Apple Newton that had a stylus and a program called Calligrapher that introduced hand writing recognition. Later when Personal...

​I have been on my Surface Pro now for a couple of years. Love it. Recently, Microsoft released a Surface Go, and Friday I got my hands on the smaller device that is student focused. I want to understand the experience authentically, so I will be utilizing this device for a period to get a feel for what students will encounter. As you can see above, it is smaller than the Surface Pro and resembles the size of an iPad. The device was enrolled in our Azure tenant and added to InTune for Education before being handed to me. By the way, if you haven't experienced a login with an Azure bound device, it is incredibly faster than a traditional Active Directory-bound device. The device straight out of the gate was snappy. I decided to see what it could do so I hooked it up to my Surface dock and see if it could drive two 24 inch monitors.

​Playing a YouTube video on display 1, interacting with OneNote on display 2, and a browser session on display 3. No freezing, no stutter, or struggle with all of this processing at once. All of the Office applications and Windows Store apps function as they would on my Surface Pro.

​I decided to see how the battery would hold up. I would want to challenge it to what would happen in a typical school day. Friday around 2 pm, I took it off the dock which I was testing. It was at about 80% capacity when I undocked it. Saturday, I watched Back to School Live Microsoft EDU event on it in our living room. Saturday afternoon, started writing this blog post and managed my email before putting it to sleep in the evening. Sunday (today) I worked on building a design thinking course in OneNote, read my daily news and information via Flipboard, and finished this blog post all on the Surface Go. No issues, performance was excellent, and the only thing I had to figure out was how to enable the Windows Ink Workspace icon for the taskbar as it wasn't activated when I received it. After three days with this device, I can say it would give an exceptional student experience while delivering that muli-input ability with digital inking. I still haven't charged the device yet as I am finishing this blog post. I will continue to use this device through this month and document the experience via my bulb app district blog/portfolio site.

​I love basketball. Every March I'm like a kid in a candy store. My favorite player is Michael Jordan. My dog is named MJ, I have about 20+ pairs of Air Jordans, and my basement is covered with posters dating back to the 90s. My favorite commercial of all time, you guessed it: (not the original, but I like this one better)

​An offensive force, he was capable of aggressively driving to the basket, signature tongue hanging out, dunking or spinning fade away, many times drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth-highest total of all time. Jordan wasn't just an offensive player. He was a nine-time all-defensive team, including defensive player of the year 1987-88. First player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season. Then there is just winning, six NBA Finals. I remember being in Chicago the night Micheal was inducted in the Hall of Fame. ESPN Sportzone was packed, everyone was in awe.

​This time of year always reminds me of basketball. We set up so many "plays" which I call systems that incorporate the best game "student experience" to generate high engaging learning environments. It never turns out exactly the way you vision for it to; every leader knows that. This year we have an incredible amount of initiatives being deployed, those include:

a major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) upgrade that incorporates a reimplementation of human resources and inventory

finish out device deployments at secondary schools and begin focus on elementary schools

Expand our Omaha Virtual School offerings

a new web filtering solution

a new learning management solution

a new website and mass communications solution

​All of these initiatives require incredible planning, professional development, and effort. It is like a full court press. Yesterday we welcomed nearly 400 new teachers to Omaha Public Schools in our New Teachers Institute and today was our Leadership Kickoff all held at Baxter Arena. Incredible messages were shared, and a twinkle of new vision for what the future holds from our new Superintendent, Dr. Cheryl Logan. Is it busy? You betcha. But I love it, just like I love basketball.

​The summer months have started. It is always a transition time for all of us. A time to reflect, a time to process, a time to recharge, and a time to get ready to start another year. When you have kids, even when you aren't in the education sector, you tend to operate around your kid's schedule. In one week we will fly to San Diego for some vacation, but mainly to watch Bailey, my youngest daughter, play volleyball. It will be filled with hiking in the mornings, chilling on the beach, and well, volleyball. This month is also a month of transition. Mr. Evans, who has spent the last five years here in Omaha Public Schools transforming the district, will be retiring. Dr. Logan is transitioning here to Omaha, moving from the Philidelphia/Maryland region. This transition feels so much better than the turmoil that resulted in three candidates backing out of the Superintendent's position one year ago.

​Dr. Logan suggested a couple of books for Executive Council to read for our professional development. If you read my blog posts, you know I love to read, #1ChapterADay usually. Primal Leadership has been the first on the list. If I had to summarize the book, I would say it is a deep dive into the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. It breaks emotional intelligence down into four domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. What I enjoyed about the book was it introduced some great examples and breaks the content down into bite-sized portions, what I call "brain food." Below are my bite sized reflections of each chapter broken down into a graphic or what I call a "quoture."

Where does this fit me personally?

​If I had to place where my strengths fit into the leadership repertoire, in chapter four, I would select visionary and an equal mixture of democratic and affiliative. Just take a look at my Gallup Strengthsfinder:

​The combinations of futuristic and strategic lend themselves to the visionary type of leadership. Throw in woo, and you begin to see the linking of an affiliative kind of leadership. I think if you mix strategic and woo you would see democratic, but if you look at my entire ten strengthsfinder strengths, relationship strength is not one of them.

​In closing, this was a great read. As the chapters continued, the content drove deeper into meaning and connections within yourself and how you approach and engage with others. Chapter one of this book delivers it best:

"GREAT LEADERS move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us.But the reality is much more primal: Great leadership works through the emotions."

Being a positive leader results in resonance leadership. The importance of a continuous learning path for leaders is tremendous, this is outlined in chapter eight in learning agendas for your staff and yourself. The notes I took for this book in OneNote I will utilize for years to come. A special thanks to Dr. Logan for suggesting.

Since we started with our planned obsolescence strategy a couple of years ago in Omaha Public Schools, we have been looking for ways to provide digital equity and access. This was outlined in our strategic plan and resonates across our learning environment now and in the future. Over the past couple of years, through budget cuts, we have tried to find alternative ways to assist in our device deployments. This past year, we came close to deploying 18,000 devices to students across our secondary schools. Through that process, we stumbled upon the Verizon Innovative Learning Initiative, through Digital Promise. ​This initiative provides devices and internet access through Verizon's LTE data network that targets the digital equity and access pieces by delivering access anywhere, anytime.

​The VILs Initiative is unique in that it supplies professional development, planning assistance, as well as resources and funding to provide an instructional technology trainer coupled with an iPad 1:1 for students and staff. In our first planning year, I can see that it is the most intentional, comprehensive initiative I have ever been a part of with a corporate grant/partnership.

​Both Norris Middle School and Marrs Magnet Middle School were selected to cohort 5 of the VILs Initiative. Through these cohorts, you have a community of veteran schools and new schools chosen from across the nation that contributes to the success rate of these implementations. Below is a photo of our implementation meeting held in Dallas with Digital Promise and the cohort schools.

​​Throughout this initiative, I have thought what the student experience would be. In discussion with the school leadership, we thought it would be great to experience a week through the lens of the student experience. This past week we started with a challenge to utilize the iPad as our primary device. Each day we would reflect using Flipgrid to document the journey. Below is the flipgrid with the video reflections.

Our iPad Challenge

​I think I learned through that journey that as leaders to bring some empathy and understanding to the student experience, we sometimes need to experience the same environment. It is great to model and provide solutions and ideas so that staff and students feel supported. This week was challenging but an inspiring experience at the same time. I know we will have some fantastic nuggets of excellence coming from both Norris and Marrs as they learn from great practitioners and deliver devices for high technology learners.

About this time each year, I take some time to reflect; my view is around the school year since my career focuses on K-12 education. I struggled with the title of this blog including the term "pride". I remember sitting in church, listening to preachers toss it around like it was the fastest way to a hot place. ​I wanted to focus on the word pride since the term identifies the amount of transition happening both personally and professionally in my life. ​Webster’s Dictionary lists two definitions for the word pride — and two that could not be more opposing. The first is “inordinate self-esteem/ conceit.” The second? “A reasonable or justifiable self-respect.”

It turns out that pride does come in two characteristics. One can give you the impulse and courage to become the best variant of yourself. This type of authentic pride comes from hard work and is the variant we will use in this post. Next, I will share some areas I am proud of this year, starting with my kids.

Personally

If you were to ask me 22 years ago that I would be married with three children, I would say you are crazy. Today, I am happily married nearly 22 years, and this month my middle child graduates high school. Our family environment doesn't come without some hard work on everyone's part. My daughters have worked through the transition of moving to a new state and took on a tremendous amount of life change.

Last week, Aiyana completed the Lincoln Half Marathon with me even after going to prom the night before. In a couple of weeks, she will graduate from Omaha Central High School. She has worked so hard at what she wants to become. She persevered through a back injury that could have been devastating to her volleyball contributions. She worked through them and won the Varsity Female Player of the Season her junior year. After she graduates, she will continue at Metro Community College with a full scholarship. One thing I have learned with my kids, what we get right and what we get wrong does not ultimately determine who our children become. Our children’s futures aren’t wholly dependent on our ability to perfectly orchestrate their lives.

Professionally

I have now been in education for 19 years. Time flies. If I were to highlight the person that has influenced me most over the years, one person stands out.

​Leadership plays a vital role in education. This year will be my 13th year working for Mark Evans. Mark brings so much to the table as far as leadership. He understands that a leader develops the talent around himself. One thing that defines Mark is his desire to "do what's best for students"; this is his brand, and if you spend even five minutes with him, you will hear this phrase. Mark is approachable and able to hold a conversation with any staff member without intimidating them. He has transformed any district he has led. By far, no one has taught me more about leadership than him. What we have done in Omaha Public Schools is a direct reflection of the leadership he has brought. You will still see his fingerprint in the district from the initiatives and leadership he has brought to Omaha Public Schools. Here are some points of pride district wide we have seen through his leadership lens. These highlight items since the 2016-17 school year and do not reflect many of our accomplishments as a district during the 2017-18 school year.

Center for Digtial Education Large District Summit:
​Sharing our story

What I have learned in the last 4 years has opened my eyes to what large school districts face as they integrate technology. Through some hard work, our entire IMS team has created a transformation story that last week we were able to share with other districts at a national level. Technology leaders from the nation’s largest K-12 school districts were invited to spend two days together discussing hot topics that challenge us. Omaha Public Schools was fortunate to host this event last week. These leaders collaborated together to participate in round table conversations around relevant edtech and IT topics.
​

​Here are the slides we shared to large districts as far east as NYC, west as LA, south as Calcasieu Parish and as far north as Chicago.

Transitions

Transitions are everywhere you look. Today, voters will cast their ballot to pass the second phase of our bond initiative at nearly $410 million. That will allow us to build the much needed facilities that will help our students have a great learning environment. As we transition into new district leadership with Dr. Cheryl Logan, we will find more things to be proud of. All of this hard work is for the future of Omaha, and it looks promising.

​Today, I was sitting in my kitchen and was thinking I hadn't called family in Missouri in a while, so I called my Aunt Vanessa over FaceTime (video). At the time I didn't know they were in the middle of a field and my Aunt was waiting for Randy to finish on the tractor. Then it hit me. We couldn't have done this ten years ago. What has changed?

​I remember setting up distance learning labs in my previous district to get access to programming such as Mandarin Chinese to our students. The logistics around the setup were impractical. It seemed as though the stars needed to align for everything to work flawlessly. We would use these expensive Polycom cameras with encoders and punch holes through our firewalls to get the video to come across bidirectionally. Then there was the setup of all of the IP addresses to know to dial into to connect to the remote classrooms. Initially, we even installed an internet connection just for video conferencing. All of this was just the technical side. There was also the enormous amount of scheduling challenges for this synchronous activity to happen. That was 15 years ago; now things have changed.

​Broadband and mobile technology have exponentially impacted change and provides the necessary access that video demands. Netflix started its streaming service in 2007, and in 2010 Apple introduced FaceTime to its iPhone product line. Toss in the availability of 4G LTE around the same time, and you get mobility and the sufficient broadband to deliver video.

​Now not only do we have smaller and thinner devices, but we also have quicker speeds and quality is outstanding. Cameras are recording video in 4k quality, a truly cinematic experience, even with the capability of storing it in free services such as YouTube. We can consume, engage, and create videos in mobile experiences that was only true to expensive professional equipment just ten years ago. The statistics of video in our internet ecosystem are immense. Just look at some examples below:

​What does this mean for education?

Dyane Smokorowski introduced me to Skype in the Classroom. We used a cheap Logitech camera hooked up to a laptop and scheduled time with another classroom. That classroom was overseas, and the students did not know where they were. The activity that followed was impressive. The students were asking questions to build clues on where the other students lived and their culture. The experience was called a Mystery Skype. There are now five exciting ways to bring the world into your classroom: virtual field trips, Skype lessons, Skype collaborations, Mystery Skypes as I explained above, and guest speakers. There isn't a need to set up complex network routes, firewall rules, etc. It is as comfortable as making a call on your mobile device. Every year in Omaha Public Schools, we participate in the global Skype-A-Thon. Last year the Skype-A-Thon event connected nearly half a million students and traveled over 14,500,000 virtual miles in 48 hours!

In Omaha Public Schools, we are using his practices to focus on quality. In the past, we had worked so hard on our coaching tool that primarily focused on the number of visits. Now we are moving to more purposeful practice. In Focus On Teaching, Jim outlines the use of video in the form of microteaching.

During microteaching, teachers

(a) watch a video recording of a master teacher modeling a teaching practice,

(b) try out the practice in a brief lesson that was video-recorded,

(c) receive feedback from an expert on how they implemented the practice,

(d) try out the practice after revising lesson plans, and

(e) receive feedback again from experts.

Conclusion

​Because of technology and social media, our circle of influence is massive. Our use of video is how we consume, engage, and create in this world culture today. I want you to think this week, how is video impacting your day today?

My transition from analog to digital

When was the last time you recalled writing something down and then forgetting where you put it? It used to happen all the time, and much of the time it was a reference needed from a meeting you had a couple of weeks ago. But which notebook was that? Is it in my desk, car, at home? #$%^&

​This scenario was typical pre-2014 for me. I would bury writing in Moleskine notebooks, one after the other, and sometimes multiple ones for different needs. I would fill one up and throw it on the desk only to go back to it when I needed to reference something - search time = maximum effort.

​Writing notes is not bad - I still do it, just differently. It is how I retain knowledge more efficiently. But having this analog process creates barriers. Think about it, how hard is it to save this and carry it with you where ever you go and access it anytime? How easy is it to search fast when you need it? And how can you share it in this ever social and connected society we have today?

​My transition from analog to digital was not overnight. OneNote was not a part of that transition either. Nope, it was a green elephant called Evernote. Moleskine and Evernote had come up with this strategy of notetaking with stickers, that when snapped with your Evernote App, it would categorize your notes electronically like this:

​When I wrote legibly, it was great. I could do a word search in Evernote, and it would pull up my handwritten notes, highlighted with the word. If I was in a hurry or writing in Klingon - not really but kind of a scribbly version of shorthand, it was the best guess if I was going to see it in a search. Eventually, I would move to Evernote and begin typing my notes from meetings. There were efficiencies here - saving notes was great, searching notes was excellent, and sharing notes was available in simple ways. What I would soon realize was that I needed an ability to have written and typed notes co-exist while providing these requirements: Save, Search, Share.

Enter OneNote into the mix

​The year was 2014, Obama was still president, Apple bought Beats headphones, and everyone was doing the ALS ice bucket challenge. I left Andover as an Apple follower: MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone somehow all in hand. There were some decisions we would make in Omaha Public Schools that would change all of that. In October 2014, we transitioned to Office 365 for all our collaboration needs. I won't go through that process, but you can read about it here:

In today's world, we operate as a society outside of the walls of our schools, our businesses, and our homes. The access to mobile devices has expanded our social and professional lives, many times blurring the lines between work and home. Technology has been front of state in the lives of students born between 1982 and 2002.

​After our implementation, I began to dabble in the Windows 10 world with a Surface Pro, but still keeping my MacBook Pro on my desk. Through the next few months, I found myself shifting back to writing notes through the digital inking capabilities in OneNote rather than typing them. I slowly began to transition to my Surface Pro, exclusively. Also, I would keep personal notes in Evernote and work in OneNote; but eventually, I migrated all of my notes using the OneNote Importer:

OneNote and Evernote have a lot in common, but we think you're going to love OneNote's standout features. Dive into its free-form feel of pen to paper. You also get free offline note access and unlimited note creation.

​There is upper level management that I do miss with Evernote, but recently OneNote made their navigation much richer, allowing similar functionality. Next, I will share how I use it for personal and work-related information.

Personal

I love to learn, but it hasn't always been this way. I blame technology. I think there was a time when I started bringing technology "projects" home and I would tell my wife Amanda, this won't be in the kitchen area for long, promise. It was sometime during my stint in the military that curiosity started some intrinsic motivation to learn. Since then, it really hasn't stopped. Now it is more organized, back and forth through reading books, articles, and blogs. Retaining and having access to what I learn always moves back to these attributes: save, search, share. That learning lives in a OneNote Notebook called BrainFuel.

​Grocery lists. We all have them, and in OneNote, you can make them into checklists. Share them with your family, as you disperse through the store picking up items, each checking off the list, in real time. Mind blown.

Work

​At a district level, OneNote is foundational. We use it to manage Executive Council meetings, project organization within Microsoft Project Online, and staff notebooks for multi-level collaboration. That model of collaboration - Content Library "broadcast" (one to many), one to one, and Collaboration Space (many to many) works at the district level and in the classroom. That experience, mixed with the flexibility of handwritten, audio, video, typed, clipped, tagged, linked in a white space, create an environment that anyone could use. ​

​For me, when I am out and about, quick notes are where it is at. The ability to take a picture of a document with auto cropping was once a feature that was in OfficeLens only. As much as I want us to move to paperless meetings entirely, I know that takes time. I love the ability to mark up a captured document to provide context to content. Mix all of this with Microsoft Teams, and you have a media-rich environment with video capabilities and conversation channels with the occasional emoji thread or GIF share.

​It is the ability to have my notes all in one place with linked Outlook.com accounts with my district's Office 365 account that brings significant efficiencies to my time. I live where I work and work where I live, so this brings a natural workflow to my day. Since adopting OneNote, I have been building my digital inking skills through sketchnotes. It has brought a natural learning experience that bridges the analog and digital notetaking without the hassle of moving back and forth.

A request.

​If there were ever one wish I had for the OneNote Team, it would be to be able to insert a drop-down selection box to be able to build a lesson plan template within a OneNote Notebook, specifically accessible from OneNote Web.

What is disruption?

​This week my post is co-authored by Eileen Heller. Eileen is an Instructional Technology Trainer here at Omaha Public Schools. She oversees our Compass Program, a unique relationship with Microsoft that builds solutions for education across the world through Omaha Public Schools. When we look at new technology solutions that engage the classroom, Eileen looks for the ways it integrates and aligns with our Best Instructional Practice Handbook. You can access her blog below.

In the education world there are really two "new years" that we encounter. The one we all celebrate on January 1st and the start of a new school year. Both are a great time to reflect on the last...

​This week's blog post, Eileen and I are focusing on digital disruption. Being born in 1976, I got the opportunity in life to see the effects of technology through many mediums such as social media through the introduction of the Internet change society. For as long as there has been technology, there have been those who have breathed a sigh of relief that digital disruption wasn't going to happen to them. For me, one area that I see is how I bank. I bank at Bank of America which we have had for a very long time yet there are no Bank of America locations in Nebraska, which I do find amusing since they are named Bank of America.

Technology is most powerful when it produces efficiencies in our lives. This week my kids experienced this example. Our dishwasher broke, and it took a little over a week to get it repaired because we were dealing with warranty issues. My kids had to participate in the manual wash process. It is interesting to listen to kids who don't know what a rotary phone is, or a typewriter, commercial breaks, etc. My kids have always had access to the dishwasher and never had to manually wash dishes. I had them give an account below of that experience.

My experience with disruption...

I remember when I bought my first iPod. It was 2002, and I was joyed to have 10 Gb of music in my hand. It was crazy talk. I could rip my CDs and have access to them with customized playlists. I think it was also the first time I got used to using gestures to select items on a mobile device. Best $299 I could have spent at the time. The iTunes Store wasn't introduced until 2003 which was also a game changer. Buying songs immediately without heading to Best Buy or any other music store produced a convenience I desired. Enough about the past, what industries are on track to get disrupted by technology in the near future?

What industries are about to get disrupted?

Let's begin with this video. Love how Common presents what could be.

​Just as the iPod transformed our lives with music, artificial intelligence is about to do so with information. Think about this, how many times do you hear the words "Siri," "Alexa," or "Hey Google" heard? Artificial Intelligence will transform many of our industries. Here are two articles outlining two examples of that transformation, one for lawyers, and one in our education industry. ​Getting legal advice is expensive. Thanks to artificial intelligence, though, that might not be the case for long. As AI becomes more and more capable of processing and understanding complex language, lawyers' jobs are becoming more efficient. And in education, as schools transition away from paper, textbooks, and projectors, there's a growing opportunity for startups to create new tools geared toward educators.

Watch out, attorneys. The bots are coming--and they're getting good at your job. For some lawyers, contract review takes up a huge chunk of time and it can be extremely tedious. That's why the co-founders of LawGeex began their company in 2014.

Untitled Document The most compelling topics among educators who embrace technology to transform teaching and learning are not about the tech at all, but about the students. Here's a list of the hottest trends in edtech for 2018. Computational thinking will be at the forefront in 2018, and not just as it relates to computer science and coding.

Disruption in Education

Disruption can, by definition, be viewed as negative, conjuring ideas of interruption, disturbance, annoyance – think of the disruptive student in class ruining it for everyone, which might have been me in school. In light of the digital revolution, disruption proclaims a change that may seem particularly unwelcome to those forced to change their traditional ways of doing things. But it doesn’t emerge from anywhere. It is important to note that disruption is driven by a convergence of forces. Those forces can be the changing demands of consumers, or by competition between industries.

Even as the digital era is reshaping industries of all kinds, the processes and structures of higher education remain seemingly immutable. Now a new wave of tech-driven delivery models is presenting the sector with an opportunity to dramatically enhance the quality of learning - and the results that students and businesses can expect.

In what way will AI be incorporated into e-learning in the near future? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Deepak Reddy, Vice Chairman at Aditya Educational Institutions, on Quora: E-learning has the potential to revolutionize education.

So how do we prepare students for this ever-changing landscape? This is where you hear those 4Cs (collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication). Below are two articles that come to mind when thinking about how to prepare students for an unknown future.

"The idea that a company's senior leaders have all the answers and can solve problems by themselves has gone completely by the wayside...The person who's close to the work has to have strong analytic skills. You have to be rigorous: test your assumptions, don't take things at face value, don't go in with preconceived ideas that you're trying to prove."

Rapid advances in technology have changed - and continue to change, often with unpredictable results - the way workers and industries function. In the next five years alone, economists predict over five million jobs will be replaced by new technologies like artificial intelligence and robots.

​In the diagram below, my three girls are actually represented in three of these levels, and our lives were directly impacted by them as the creation of Google was happening. It's crazy to see how many disrupted solutions have occurred in just the last 20 years! Unlike us, our kids have been exposed to these very early in life and society has changed because of them. These are important to take in as an educator since our learning environments and learning styles have changed.

Digital Disruption in the Classroom- Eileen's Perspective

When I look at the synonyms of "disruption," they tend to be negative as Rob pointed out earlier. This has two possible outcomes in a classroom when technology disrupts instruction and learning. It can be ineffective or powerfully transformative. Disruption in regards to the addition of devices in the school was recently a hot debate on Twitter with the below post from @E_Sheninger that garnered 92 replies and counting. Check out the Digital Distraction debate in full.

When you look at the heart of the issue it is an example of "digital disruption". Devices in the hands of students could "hamper, impede, interfere" with learning. They can also empower students, transform learning, and allow accessibility by removing barriers that impeded learning in the past. I work with teachers in classrooms daily in my role as an instructional technology trainer. I see the effects of devices and it comes with a variety of positives and negatives.

Recently I visited, Nick Wennstedt's, @MrWennstedt, AP History class at Bryan High School in our district. Walking into that room there is an immediate and noticeable difference between that classroom and the one I sat in twenty-five years ago in my high school. When I reflect on this, my classroom in high school did not look or feel different than what my parents explained from their generation. Students are different than when I was in high school, and I'm sure our generation was different than our parents. It isn't a "this is good, or this is bad thing" it is a reality. What students need for learning is different and what society needs coming from our students' education is different.

Nick's classroom had gone through some changes both in the physical environment with flexible seating opportunities, and the addition of laptops for each student. August 2017, Nick's students were greeted with the newly renovated learning space, but they did not have devices. November 2017, the students in Nick's students went 1:1 with the addition of devices to the AP program. I asked him to share how the transition to devices had been a "disruption" in his classroom in regards to instruction and learning both positively and negatively. ​

"My experiences this year with the influx of technology into my classroom has created disruption in a few ways. The first disruption to my teaching is from the introduction of a new, complex tools into the classroom. Pens, pencils and notebooks do not have to update or charge or connect to a network, whereas our new laptops feature all of those. Class bell work/anticipatory sets now also feature IT help with me assisting those students experiencing problems, working through trouble shooting with them.
Traditional work flow for my students has also been disrupted. Up until this school year, on-line resources such as Class Notebook have mostly been used as a backup source, “missed class? Check the class notebook for the notes, etc…”, whereas now the Class Notebook and Teams are their primary source of notes, assignments, homework and resources. For some of my students, this disruption has been a net benefit as the old way of distributing handouts and packets meant more paper to lose track of, but now everything is organized in one place. For other students, this disruption has caused an increase in forgetting about assignments or materials because they do have them as physical reminders.
The other disruption that can occur when the technology isn’t working is that it can disrupt a train of thought. My Advanced Placement students become frustrated when the technology isn’t working and it can deter them from continuing to work hard or derail their critical thinking.Overall, the disruptions from technology are outweighed by the benefits. I am eager to see test results and overall achievement compared to last year without the technology."- Nick Wennstedt

Classrooms going 1:1 is definitely not a new concept. It has been happening for almost a decade. However, if it hasn't happened to you as an educator, you haven't felt the immediate disruption. When it does take place a teacher needs to wrestle through the organization, troubleshooting, classroom management, digital citizenship, changes in instruction, etc. It reminds me a lot of what I experienced when I was preparing for a new baby. I could get all the advice, clothes, diapers, furniture, that was needed, but nothing prepared me for the day in and day out disruption of our lives that came with it. With time, more planning, trial and error, seeking out more advice from other parents, it all became easier. This is how it needs to be looked at in a classroom. It should be expected that a digital disruption could make you feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed as it is change that bleeds into almost every area of the classroom. It takes planning, adjusting, and seeking out how others have done it and found success in the past. I guarantee to you not one teacher that had a digital disruption immediately had all positive effects with no negatives. Below is a list of strategies I have seen teachers employ that makes the transition go smoother:

Teacher receives device first to build skills for instruction and model usage

Allowing students to learn from students

Asking for support from our training team with implementation

Communicating with parents the changes and benefits on learning

Connecting with other educators that have been through a digital disruption

Conclusion

​Disruption of industries, our time, and our future are ever changing because of technology. Next week I will team with Amy Vester to highlight another technology tool that will transform our classrooms with language challenges and opportunities. We will highlight Microsoft Translator and show real classroom examples of its impact.

This was actually the second time reading it...

Have you ever watched a movie and then after you finished it, watched it again sometime later only to find out you enjoy it more? That was my feeling when I read Innovator's Mindset the second time. I have to be honest, and after reading twelve books with friends this last year, my thoughts are focused on progress in the education landscape. As technology and information become more abundant in our classrooms, it is essential to inspire students - the careers waiting for them are more different than any time in history. Even though we have technologies such as artificial intelligence and mixed realities entering our landscape, I still hold on to teachers being essential in today and tomorrow's learning environment.

Just how different is this landscape?

I got the opportunity this week to spend some time with my friend Kecia Ray to catch up on all things #edtech but also to listen to her give the keynote at the #NDLA18 Conference held in Omaha. Many of the items in this book, our conversations, and her presentation resonated together in what changes we see happening in education. This was a video Kecia showed in one of her breakout sessions:

​Right now we have many twenty-first-century schools with twentieth-century learning.

I love where I work. This year marks my 19th year in education. There is a great purpose in what we do. Anyone who enters the education career field knows this. When you look at so many things in our world that are changing because of technology, why don't we change our learning environments? The Innovator's Mindset approached this problem through the use of purpose and added creativity of innovation. The classroom I grew up in, rural Missouri, was absent of technology. We had a couple of computers in the back of our business classroom, but to be honest, I didn't engage with them until I was in the military at 18. My kids have engaged with technology as they have entered school. All three of my girls engage with internet with more information than all of my childhood learning combined at their fingertips; able to access at a moments notice.

​What I enjoy about this book is how George Couros tells stories. Stories are all around us. They have the power to inspire us, move us and make us feel alive. Stories are a way to reach out to people and make an emotional connection. We need to utilize our tools to tell the story. George emphasizes the use of Twitter not only for professional development but for telling our story. Eric Sheninger says in BrandED that "if you aren't telling your story, someone else is." So much of what we do is around communication and branding. Eric states, "The traditional school leadership role may originally have been one of distancing, but those days are done." What I enjoy about George's take is his approach in writing, you can tell he has passion. Passion for students, and their success; this comes out in George's stories and his branding.

Quotures I created along this journey...

I hope as you read Innovator's Mindset, you keep an open mind. Here are three quotes that set the tone for this book:

The way we learn—and the way we teach students even the most basic skills—must reflect and capitalize on the technology, information, and people we have access to today.

We can’t base the way we teach on how we were taught because

a) we have powerful opportunities at our fingertips, and

b) the way many of today’s teachers were taught wasn’t effective for all students, even when we were in school.

My hope is that the future teachers of the world will not recreate what this generation has done but make something far better that is relevant for that generation.

I have now read this book twice. I do plan on reading it again sometime later. It's a very easy read, and one that will change your educational world immediately.

​In The Workplace And Home

I typically always start with technology when writing blog posts. Today is no different. Technology enables us to communicate and collaborate from anywhere. Technology has transformed the workplace. The scenarios requiring out-of-the-office access from any device are numerous. It is no different in education. The rapid and accelerating move towards the adoption and use of mobile technologies has provided our society with the ability to work in incredible, and previously unanticipated, ways.​

​I often hear of the need for work-life balance. For me, it has never happened. Coming out of high school straight into the military, I worked where I lived and lived where I worked. My family understands this process. My extended family, maybe not so much. I think work-life balance means something different to every individual. Sometimes I think it is different based on where you live, your family dynamics, perfectionism, and increasingly how you interact with technology. ​A lot of people develop perfectionist tendencies at a young age when demands on their time are limited to school, sports/hobbies and maybe an after-school job. It’s easier to maintain that perfectionist habit as a kid, but as you grow up, life gets more complicated. As you climb the work ladder and as your family grows, your responsibilities increase dramatically.

As you progress, this habit can become overwhelming. My wife and I got married at an early age, she was 20, and I was 19. College took a backseat for her as she worked so we could make ends meet. It wasn't until after we had our middle child Aiyana, that she went back to finish her associates degree in accounting, then her masters degree, and later become a CPA. The picture here was from Amanda's graduation day. Those were ever-changing times, which didn't make life more comfortable but we worked as a family to transition through these life-changing moments. Mobile technology and social media hadn't entered into our lives yet. No, this would come later. ​

Balance With Technology

It is pretty rare to see someone without a smartphone in their hands these days. Mobile technology and social media have enlarged the circle of influence each of us have in society today. But it has also created expectations of constant accessibility. The workday never seems to end. There are times when one should just shut their phone off and enjoy the moment. This weekend we were able to meet up with some friends at a restaurant with a live band while we were visiting in Wichita. To our delight, we coincidentally ran into some great friends we hadn't seen in a very long time there. It was so great to catch up, dance, and listen to great music. I didn't bring my phone out to look at any updates - I just enjoyed the moment. We need moments like this.

Be Active

Procedures and routines - you see that in our Best Instructional Practices Handbook. We use this in classroom management. But what do we do for self-management? It takes a lot to manage our busy schedules. One thing that takes a back seat in our busy schedules is being active. I admit it is tough - but getting up early in the morning and getting the sweat in is worth it. I make it a routine to get up every morning to do this. Think about it. Even when we’re busy, we make time for the crucial things in life. We eat. We go to the bathroom. We sleep. And yet one of our most vital needs - kicking our butt working out - is often the first thing to go when our calendars fill up. Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body.

Recently, I joined a cross fit gym with my wife Amanda and daughter Aiyana. I hadn't been to any formal workout facility since moving to Omaha. The last 3 1/2 years have been at Planet Fitness, and the routine was simple - Weights: Monday-Wednesday-Friday Cardio: Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. We will see how this year stacks up focusing on nutrition and working with a personal trainer again.

Creating Relationships

Instead of putting pressure on ourselves to achieve a high utopia of work-life balance, we should start focusing on work-life integration: our ability to ensure that our personal and work interests are incorporated into our daily lives and routines. Individuals also have a responsibility for integrating their work and own experiences. Creating authentic relationships with co-workers can even make for better work-life integration. You can do this slowly, moving from “what do you do?” to a discussion about your hobbies and then deeper into your personal life when both parties are comfortable. When we have strong relationships with our teammates, we bring that happiness back to our own lives.​ #BetterConversations

The Instructional Technology Team is very much a big part of my life here in Omaha. You can see it in how we interact day to day. Dan, our Project Manager, is very much a part of this as well. The things that make us happy at home, also make us happy at work. If a warm and welcoming environment is what is important at your home, it should also `be important in the workplace. If at home, you’ve got friends, you should have an equal number of friends in the workplace. While on the surface we may view “work creep” (work infiltrating our personal lives) as negative, it can be our greatest asset if we manage it properly.

Conclusion

Throughout the last decade, I’ve noticed a shift in thinking. More people are suggesting that the ways work and life overlap might not all be bad. As technology connects us wherever we go, it is important to prioritize our relationships. It doesn't matter if these are work or personal relationships. The days of convincing ourselves that we can separate our work and personal lives are over, and I think we should embrace this change. ​

What A Year

It has been a year of change, around the world, where I work, in my family, and personally. I am not sure anyone was prepared for the political climate that occurred this year. Our stance as a nation has swung significantly in the last 12 months. I fell asleep the night of the presidential election in a hotel room with the TV on and woke up at 2:30 in the morning and the world had changed. It didn't stop there though. A bizarre event would occur and would be all over the news; before we could wrap our minds around it, another bizarre event would occur, then another and another, coming at us faster and faster, battering the nation with a Category 5 hurricane-like weirdness that left us hunkering down, clinging to our sanity, no longer certain what was real.

In the midst of all the bizarre things that occurred this year, there were good things too. ​We have seen many technological advancements that will assist us as a society for years to come. Artificial Intelligence, Augmented/Virtual Reality, 3D printing, the availability of inexpensive solar cells, and even self driving vehicles made this spotlight this year. If I had to point to one person's influence of much of this, it would have to be Elon Musk. His goals for his companies Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity revolves around his vision to change the world and humanity.

A highlight of this year for me personally, our team, and the district would be telling our story. We have done an incredible job of documenting this journey. One event that I would like to highlight was our participation at ISTE this last summer. It was clear that through the amount of presentations and being a big part of Microsoft's Hack the Classroom event at ISTE, we have made progress that others see value in. I use this as a dipstick to measure our effectiveness as a team and later I highlight how I use my kids as a measurement of our student experience.

​With ISTE behind us, it's fun to reflect on the event that it was. You knew it was going to be big when Richard Culatta shared that registrations for ISTE had reached over 21,000. ISTE...

In the next three segments, I will focus on district, family, and personal reflections over the past year. Each has their own challenges, advancements, and opportunities.

Our Growth As a District

Our $421 million dollar bond issue in November of 2014 has provided many resources that Omaha Public Schools needed. Before that, there wasn't a bond issue for over 15 years. The needs assessment that was completed before the bond showed $1.2 billion in needs. As much as this first bond issue is allowing us to build and provide, (Belle Ryan and Western Hills elementary schools slated to open in a couple of weeks, for instance) there is so much more that needs to be done. The next bond in May of 2018 will help address the space needs at our secondary schools.

2017 has been a year of transition as far as leadership. Mr. Evans decided to stay one more year after a turbulent Superintendent search process with the board. I must say it was good to spend one more year with Mr Evans, this being our 13th year working together. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Kehrberg retired at the end of the 2016-17 season creating a vacancy that was replaced with Chief Academic Officer, Melissa Comine. We also brought on a couple of new Executive Directors of School Supports. All of these are good transitions, but transitions are challenging and require time.

From a technology standpoint, we have made efforts towards planned obsolescence of devices. In 2017, we experienced budget constraints that made us adjust the frequency by which we refresh devices. One thing the refresh process has done is show how necessary digital equity and access is for all of our students. In the future, we will make decisions differently as a district through the progression to digital equity through the strategic plan. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish with digital curriculum and open educational resources that provide unique learning experiences through technology. Personalized learning is the way to go. Our students should be picking their unique pathway in opportunities that aren't even thought of yet. For more information on our unique process for devices, click the image below for the blog post on planned obsolescence.

Anytime you are shifting focus with student learning, you need to incorporate parents and community. Digital citizenship and literacy was a major focus in Omaha Public Schools in 2017. We certified over 50 schools with Common Sense Media Certification to receive the district level certification. This was not all though. We also implemented the Mobile Learning Unit, a vehicle that provides programming to students, parents, and community through a partnership with Cox Communications. What was once a 1991 bus has now transformed into a highly engaging learning environment.

Our relationship with Microsoft has continued to progress. These strategic relationships have been beneficial for our students. We are able to give authentic feedback in what the learning experience students should receive in a high technology environment. Communication is different, as well, in today's working environment. We should reflect this shift in education as well. Our team uses Microsoft Teams everyday. This article discusses how Omaha Public Schools and Microsoft are working together to bring this collaboration shift in using Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is poised to empower students, educators and staff virtually everywhere, with new features rolling out across 181 markets and in 25 different languages. The latest experiences in Microsoft Teams , the digital hub for teachers and students in Office 365 for Education, are designed to help schools achieve more together: by fostering deeply engaged classrooms, strengthening professional learning communities, and tailoring more effective school communication.

One of the fundamental areas that needed to be addressed when Mr. Evans became Superintendent was looking at our processes. The district had a tendency to on-board a system and not continuously update it. You can see that now with our PeopleSoft upgrade that started this year. The district had not completed an upgrade of that system in over 12 years. The world has changed in 12 years. Think about what wasn't here 12 years ago in technology:

There was no iPhone or iPad

Social Media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, etc.

Facebook was still only available for college students

Mobile apps and the abundance of software wasn't readily available

The technology around website design wasn't incorporating features such as material design and evolving to your view according to the device you are utilizing

With all of these things in mind, it is important to consider what we face by constantly updating our systems. Think about it, all of our social media mediums update without training us, many times even without informing us beforehand. We use them frequently enough that our own digital literacy skills improve naturally. The same needs to be done with our "systems" we utilize in our districts. This includes pedagogy.

These "systems" are what drives cultural change. Systems create behaviors and this is important in an district because, as I say sometimes, districts do what they're organized to do. To bring about actual change within an district, Superintendents or other leaders, before they cast big vision and before they announce a change, must sit down and look at systems and ask the question, "What are the behaviors that need to change in order to move in the direction we need to move?" In my past work with the BLEgroup, Gates Foundation, and GreyED Solutions working on tech audits or strategic planning, it became evident that these are the fundamental things that drive necessary change. So, simply talking and casting vision doesn't change the direction of a district. Systems create behaviors because districts do what they're organized to do.

I am excited to see where we go in 2018 with teaching and learning in Omaha Public Schools! With the shifting of leadership, continued adoption of systems that produce efficiency and great staff in every facet of Omaha Public Schools, we are better - you can see it. Check out our transformation page for what our district has done through the use of technology.

My Family's Growth

I have always measured my effectiveness as an educational leader through my kids. It's an easy mechanism since I see them everyday. At some points in life I have had one in every level at the same time: Elementary, Middle and High School. Every night I would listen to them and gather their experiences. During the last two years, this dynamic is changing. Now Emily is a Sophmore in college, Aiyana is a senior at Omaha Central High School, and Bailey has joined her as a Freshman. From a parent perspective, the light is at the end of the tunnel. I am going to have to figure out a way to measure my effectiveness differently.

In 2017, we took a much needed vacation to Colorado. The kids had a blast, and Amanda and I did too. It was one of those moments where you begin thinking this could be the last one we do as a family with our kids graduating and moving on. Amanda and I love to hike. Colorado was just the place to engage with the whole family and climb a couple of mountains, see waterfalls, and see some old friends that moved out that way. Amanda and I also took some time and rode up to a lake with our bikes and saw some wildlife. From there I mounted my GoPro and coasted down the mountain, it was the best adrenaline rush of the trip.

My Growth

Where to start. 2017 showed me how much I love to learn. I read 12 books this year - yes 12. It wasn't just reading either. Many times it was a group effort with a lot of collaboration. Creating "quotures" - yes we made that up - and posting them to twitter after a chapter. We participated in #1ChapterADay activities, taking notes and using OneNote to document the journey. I have to give a mad shout out to Eileen Heller - she has kept up with me all along the way. You can check out her blog here. We also blogged about a couple of books. Check out this one Eileen Heller, Rebecca Chambers, and I did on Learning Transformed.

This activity of blogging has been transformative. This will be my 53rd blog post this year. I started blogging January 2017 with the thought I would use this mechanism to reflect on my journey so far. It has increased my writing ability and served as a reminder of the importance of taking a second every so often to reflect and document - thoughts, views, processes that occur personally, in my family, and with our district.

What's In Store For 2018?

A new Superintendent,new Board of Education Officers, and budget conversations will start in January of 2018. The Instructional Technology Team did an incredible job of applying for a Title IV grant that was awarded to us that will help drive Future Ready and a new Professional Development System in the district this spring. 2018 will again be a year of change, around the world, where I work, in my family, and personally. ​

Today, you always hear about our need to develop our future generations with skills in coding, STEM, and in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. As a technology leader, I emphasize this in my everyday work. This year I have had the opportunity to read 12 books with staff. The last two have challenged my thinking.

Excellence Through Equity

Back in October, Superintendent Mark Evans brought the Excellence Through Equity book to Executive Council. It has been a book of focus for our Principal Meetings over the last couple of months. Alan M. Blankstein,‎ Pedro Noguera,‎ and Lorena Kelly present the power of voice and choice that guides educational leaders to drive change in the classroom. The resounding themes that echo project based learning activities, relevance, and the power of equity. I loved the parallels outlined in the book to the health industry:​From Chapter 4:

"Critical care units are generally staffed with the best medical problem solvers."

"However, I have never seen a good doctor limit or deny a patient high-quality care because he or she has refused to change his or her diet or shun bad habits."

"Unfortunately, some educators may review a student's data and make quick recommendations without carefully considering the long-term consequences for the student."

"Too often, we apply interventions with no intent or possibility of correcting or improving the ailment."

​This book provides timely insights and powerful examples that educational equity and excellence provides. It is also necessary and possible. Towards the end of the book, it highlights the necessary changes needed in the policy level to make sure education can succeed. It is timely with our current political climate. I have never felt the amount of pressure in public education as is occurring today.

From a technology standpoint, the book outlines technology being a powerful how. It particularly points out the International Standards for Technology in Education Standards.

ISTE Standards for Students for Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students (a) plan strategies to guide inquiry; (b) locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media; (c) evaluate and select information sources and digital tools; and (d) process data and report results.

Technology is a great equalizer, but it is important to understand the challenges that separate us from our private school counterparts. Every child is on an educational journey. Each of them come on the journey with different luggage. Here at Omaha Public Schools we serve children of color, immigrant children, poor children, and children whose first language is other than English. These are all things we are proud of. Nebraska Loves Public Schools has created a great video that highlights these challenges and shows the hope given to children that learning provides.

Better Conversations

This book is foundational. Everyday I push for educational technology solutions to help facilitate efficiency in time and increase ability. Too often this emphasis takes some focus away from purpose. The book Better Conversations brings that focus back to what is relevant. Many times as educators, the answers not in technology but in human behavior. It is too easy to get fixed on the shiny and we should focus on implementing technology with purpose. This gets more and more relevant as our technology advances: The more we talk about features and functions, the further we are apt to stray from what we're trying to accomplish in the first place. Jim Knight does an incredible job of bringing purpose with technology by using the very thing we hold on to everyday: our smartphones. By using video as a reflection, we paint an accurate description of our efficiencies as a teacher and communicator.

I got the opportunity to read this book with Eileen Heller, Instructional Technology Trainer for Omaha Public Schools. During the course of our readings we created what we call a quoture - an image with a quote that stood out for us personally for each chapter. As you can see below there are some great themes that come along with each chapter - but one that speaks to me is empathy.

Listening is my weakness. Every resource of my mind in conversation is anticipating what I want to say next. Not much empathy in that. Jim Knight in our session had us do an activity on listening. We were to listen to our partner without saying anything for 1 minute. It seemed like an eternity. I learned a lot from that exercise.

Jim explains this in 3 key strategies to listening:

"The four simple strategies—

(a) commit to listen,

(b) make sure your partner is the speaker,

(c) pause before you speak and ask, “will my comment open up or close down this conversation?” and

(d) don’t interrupt—provided challenge enough.

Stephen Covey described the importance of listening as a way of understanding another’s paradigm."

It all boils down to relationships....

Both books emphasize the need for relationships. In Excellence Through Equity incorporates our struggle with new standards and how we have focused too much on testing and results. Student voice and choice are needed to bring relevancy to the learning process. Better Conversations takes that a step further by understanding dialogue:

"Dialogue is a back-and-forth conversation that enables mutual learning, and there is no need for me to learn when I know it all already. "

"A dialogical conversation is something we co-construct with others so everyone in the conversation can learn and grow."

And finally because of my technology background, it is important to note that technology can happen throughout both of these processes. In both books it is used as an efficiency and as an equalizer. The technology we use today is the worst technology we will ever use in the future because it constantly changes. Don't get fixed on the shiny.

Technology is all around us today. We now live in a society where we rely on technology for much of our daily tasks. The convergence of mobile access and technology, fueled by social media and collaborative apps make our conversations different today than any time in history. Just look at the graph to the left outlining the amount of iOS apps now in the app store. The growth is exponential. How many apps do you have on your phone? You can begin to see a pattern.

Students today have come to expect high-quality content—on demand, anytime, and anywhere. This mindset puts our schools in an interesting position, and it is increasingly changing. Our role as educators in digital citizenship is to provide the necessary skills and real world preparation for today’s technology driven lifestyle. ​

The Challenge

Our educators swim in an ocean of #EDTech opportunity. It is easy to get overwhelmed. Even when you look at our waffle (left) in Office 365 here at Omaha Public Schools, you can see a growing set of tools at your disposal. What choices do I make? Do I try them all out? If it is there, shouldn't I use it? These are all questions that can overwhelm teachers. They already have lessons to prep, assessments to give, and massive amounts of grading, all while fostering relationships with our students to bring meaning to learning.

A Personal Approach

Remember To Evolve With Technology

It is no surprise that technology changes constantly. I remember the first time I used my smartphone to pay for something at the store. There was a sense of distrust at first but now I use it whenever I can. It is a comfort that has been enabled via technology. Recently I shifted platforms, moving from iOS to Android. I have had friends ask if it was painful. Since most of my stuff resides in the cloud, it wasn't hard to transition. There was pain involved with not having the same apps across platforms and remembering my username/password for some apps. You can read about my reasoning for the change in this blog post:

Digital Inking isn't new. I remember in the mid 90's messing with an Apple Newton that had a stylus and a program called Calligrapher that introduced hand writing recognition. Later when Personal...

I want to emphasize that it is important to evolve though. Too many times we put all of our assets into one bucket, only to find out that they completely shift their vision, phase out the solution, or sell to another company. All of these things have an effect on us. Even when it is a positive approach, pain is still involved because of the transition. If it is data you cherish, such as photos or videos, back them up across platforms or at home. The cloud is a great oasis, but keep in mind, where you put your valuables is just one transaction away from being difficult to access. I always backup my iCloud photos to Google Photos. It gives me a piece of mind and since I have so many, somewhere around 50,000 photos, it isn't hard for me to access from just about any type of device.

Next I want to discuss a district approach. It is this tug of war around giving choice but maintaining sustainability.

A District or Systems Approach

Define Best Practice For Your Environment

When I first came into the district 3 1/2 years ago, the district had one on premise platform for collaboration. It was called FirstClass. I called it LastClass, NoClass, and some other choice words I wouldn't publish. Moving off of that platform into a cloud first, mobile first environment was my initiative in the district. Through some decision making processes every large district makes, we decided upon shifting platforms to Office 365. You can read that process in this blog post shown below:

In today's world, we operate as a society outside of the walls of our schools, our businesses, and our homes. The access to mobile devices has expanded our social and professional lives, many times blurring the lines between work and home. Technology has been front of state in the lives of students born between 1982 and 2002.

Now having been on Office 365 for over 3 years now, we have utilized much of the tools available. Microsoft is moving to this focus of Hubs; smaller units of application processes that work together to present meaningful functions for a particular area or collaboration type. One example of a Hub is Microsoft Teams. I won't talk much about its functionality because I have blogged about it here:

I chose to write about collaboration because of its increasing usage in our everyday space. Society is changing. My kids interact with a much larger circle of influence than I did growing up. Digital literacy and social media is an inseparable and powerful combination.

These "hubs" such as Microsoft Teams, Staff Hub, etc present a new challenge. Which "hub" do I work in? These are obviously supported by our district, but managed choice is one we haven't adopted across our supports, particularly professional development. We have however used the notion of managed choice around such projects like Planned Obsolescence. So what are we doing to support this growing App phenomenon?

So there are two ways we are approaching this:

Becoming the "how" inside of the Best Instructional Practices Handbook in two ways. It is important to note that our district guides our educators in lesson development with the yearly release of our "Best Instructional Practices Handbook"
We will incorporate into that guide by:

Transforming the typical binder style into a OneNote Notebook with lesson templates and pacing guides

Incorporating best practices around the tools within the handbook - both in instructional technology and 21st Century Learning Design strategies.

A systemic App Approval Process for Apps and Hardware

We created this systemic process in January of this year vetting Apps for student data privacy, instructional strategy, and purpose. This tool has evolved to give us a lifecycle view of apps. Think about it, how many apps have you loaded on your phone and dormant? What data is it constantly gathering? It was loaded with a purpose in mind as well. Has that purpose changed? All of these questions should be asked both personally and systemically. You can't have a process of installing apps and never removing them - both personally and in a large district. Districts must put in place supports around these such as deployment methods, ongoing technical support, and professional development. The data from our App Approval Process feeds into a PowerBI dashboard as displayed below. We are well on our way to vetting 500 apps in the first year.

In the end, it is about what is best for students. Many of these apps help connect the dots for learning for our students. Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems and when they take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration. Technology makes that happen.

Stranger Things 2. Am I going to watch it? Absolutely. I grew up going to the arcade just like in the start of season 2. I remember rummaging through the house for loose change then riding my bike downtown to join my friends at the arcade. It seems just like yesterday; yet, today is my 41st birthday. That's right, I was born on Halloween. so as you can imagine, this time of year is my favorite. The arcade is mostly a thing of the past; kids are now entertained by Netflix, iTunes Music, YouTube. None of these things were around when I celebrated my Halloween birthday growing up. So, I've decided to discuss digital citizenship this week for my blog.

I remember the first time I got a Nintendo. It was a different world. No longer did we spend all of the change we had on games here and there. We spent money on renting games - then playing as many times as possible before returning them. Consumption was increasing at a rapid rate. I was home more, but not engaged with family. In retrospect, I think this was a defining moment. We still went out and played basketball for hours, so physical play was a large section of our day after school and in the summer.

Being Introduced To Technology

I really didn't engage with computers until joining the military when I was 18. Growing up in a rural town and a small district, opportunities with personal computing at the time was scarce. It was also 1995, a time when the PC involved a large desktop and the price was still high.

Satya Nadella in his new book Hit Refresh outlines the three runtimes we have had in society today:

Personal Computer

Web

Artificial Intelligence

So the experience I would have had even exposed would have been primarily in the beginning of the first runtime. It was later that Al Gore created the Internet for all of society (cough cough) Just a joke....

If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona I can sell you.

Since then, I have adopted technology as it has been introduced to me. I have had every iPhone up until the iPhone 7 Plus. Recently I moved over to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 as my primary mobile device as told in this blog.

I have seen what artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented/virtual reality can do. Kids today are exposed to these technologies at an amazing rate. That presents opportunities and challenges. On one side you see kids gain experiences outside of the classroom that could have never been done before. However, you can also see how engagement in these without guiding purpose and practice can negatively impact learning. As a parent of three teenage girls, I understand this opportunity and challenge every day. Now I want to give a picture to what my kids have experienced and what they expect.

What it has been like for my kids....

As much as I would like to discuss them all together, it is really a different experience between them. The wave of social media powered by access through mobile technology has touched each of them in a slightly different time in their life. This has caused challenges in trying to present a fair access and scaffolding model to introduce and expose my kids to these tools in an appropriate way. Here is each of them sharing what platforms they use:

First here is Bailey:

As you can see she mostly uses Instagram and Facebook for social media. For conversation, she uses Instagram Direct Messages and iMessage. Next we will hear from Aiyana. Each one of my kids are different. Aiyana is no exception to different. Please excuse her eating habits during the creation of this video.

As you can imagine, things begin to get different with our oldest, Emily. She is 19, going to college, and gaining independence from us. We begin to choose the platform that she most engages in. I think this becomes a pivotal point. Social media changes frequently, and companies come and go. What happens if the platform is different between each of them? How or can we capture those moments we want most?

Something to think about. As I have read the book Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella, I have thought about what this means not only for my kids but my grandkids. This quote from the book identifies one of the challenges we face particularly when it comes to learning. It is exciting if you approach it purposefully.

I am old but not that old....Yet.

So what about my kid's kids? What opportunities and challenges will technology bring to them? One of the particularly interesting segments from the Hit Refresh book was how industry adopts new technologies at a higher rate when it involves our comfort. Look at Netflix. The ability to binge watch without leaving your couch. Look at Uber. This is one area that I think will be disrupted by technology. Self driving cars are real. They are coming, and because of our desire to be engage with technology and the comfort of not being behind the wheel means transportation with a different experience. This could effect airline travel. Think about it, what if you could just sleep and/or watch a movie while a self driving vehicle takes you to your destination? It is closer than you think. The areas I feel like will rapidly effect my grandkids will be artificial intelligence. Their access to digital companions will change how they interact with each other, meetings, day to day work in learning and in the workplace, and just about any place they have connectivity. That connectivity increases every day. These can all be seen as opportunities and challenges depending upon how you look at it. As educators it will be important for us to focus on skill development that focuses on critical thinking so that opportunities continue for generations to come. ​​

Where do I start. I remember the first time I met Keegan, it was at a Microsoft Innovative Educator training that we were having at the Microsoft facility in Aksarben. I introduced myself and we had a great conversation about her current role at Bryan High School. Later she would apply for a position that would help shape the way our district approaches and values technology. Just in the course of the last year, she has enabled through the help of our MIE Program, to lead our efforts to complete Common Sense District Level Certification. This week, she will be speaking at TEDx Omaha. These things take talent, and below I want to highlight the talents that I see in Keegan.

Passion & Empathy

If you know Keegan, you know she has a passion for students. Just hearing some of her stories when she was an English teacher, you can tell she was engaging and provided a high level of interactivity with her students. That energy transfers into her current role of Lead Teacher for Digital Citizenship here at Omaha Public Schools. While not a new role for the district, her contribution to it has been transformative. She uses empathy in a way that challenges me and gives voice to initiatives that we have adopted. This week I have been reading the book Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella. In it he describes the role of empathy in his leadership and Keegan shows this in her everyday practice.

Confidence

Keegan believes in Omaha Public Schools. She believes in the role technology plays in student's learning. She even has confidence in my ideas, sometimes far fetched. That belief mentality allows her to take on initiatives like the Common Sense District Certification, our new Mobile Learning Unit, the construction of our App Approval Tool, and co-leading our District Technology Standards Team.

Relationships

As educators know, relationships is what makes learning happen. Strong relationships build trust and commitment. Our external relationships in the district are unique. We have a great relationship with Microsoft as well as Common Sense Media. Keegan does a great job of connecting the dots. Our App Approval Tool is a great example of connecting these dots. Here is a picture of what it looked like as we brainstormed this idea.

That has now turned into a great systemic process that vets Apps for data privacy, then through instructional strategies, and outputs to a PowerBi Dashboard for transparency.

Super #OPSProud

This week, she is speaking at TEDx Omaha. I don't know what the title is, or what exactly she will be sharing, but I know it will be impactful. Keegan, you are an incredible person and I am super proud of you. Here are some of your Common Sense folks sharing:

The last couple of weeks have been so fun. Kids are engaged, parents are engaged. Our society has a craving for accessing the Internet for a variety of purposes and now possesses the means to connect in many ways. This is one way we have engaged the community with a high technology purpose. But it is not new. In fact this bus was purchased well before I graduated High School. A 1992 Bluebird. Purchased originally through Title I some 25 years ago, it's initial purpose was to provide reading opportunities. Now, it focuses on digital citizenship and literacy. Many of today's classrooms have amazing 21st century tools being used in 20th century learning environments. It was important for us to give this space a make over so that it isn't the same.

As the saying goes, if opportunity doesn't knock, then build a door. The digital world allows us to build and open doors like never before. 2 Years. I didn't think it would take this long, but it was worth it. Everyone that contributed did an amazing job. I can't thank enough our Schoolhouse Planning team led by Kim Thompson. They are amazing, and took our thoughts and placed it into actionable results. I originally posted about the mobile learning unit at the bottom of one of my first blog posts.

As a part of our 5 year Strategic Plan , the district wanted to change the approach of our persistently low achieving schools. Through Mr. Evans leadership, the decision was made to look at high technology strategies to engage teachers, students, and community.

Leo A. Daly was the design firm that took our ideas, many of them about flexible and innovative learning spaces and put them onto paper. As you can see much of what they designed above became reality as seen in the 360 view below.

Enough about the bus... Let's talk about students

Many of you may know Common Sense as a resource for digital citizenship related curriculum and resources. If this is new to you, I strongly suggest you check out the easy to use resources from Common Sense Education. We are fortunate to partner with them and have Keegan full time as our Lead Teacher for Digital Citizenship. Our model for transforming schools has an emphasis on technology. Because Common Sense Education provides digital citizenship related resources for teachers, students and parents, we wanted to make sure a focus around the proper use was implemented. This past year we were fortunate to gain District Certification. Keegan's hard work and dedication has been incredible. I couldn't be prouder of her. This next weekend she is giving a TED Talk on the importance of a digital footprint. Her role in the mobile learning unit is crucial when we discuss community engagement. Even in my role as a technology leader, I don't have a great handle on my own parenting. My three daughters challenge my thoughts on social media and require me to engage in the same methods and platforms that they communicate in. Here is her perspective on her role for the mobile learning unit.

Rebecca Chambers serves as an Instructional Technology Coach for the Omaha Public Schools by supporting the district’s Turnaround buildings in their instructional technology initiatives, emphasizing on this mobile learning unit initiative.

Rebecca has a passion for students in the North Omaha community. It shows in how she organizes their activities, providing relevancy to students no matter what age they are. These students has no basis for understanding information that isn't readily and immediately available. Rebecca understands this and scaffolds activities appropriately. These students have come to expect high-quality content—on demand, anytime, and anywhere, and through her work with the mobile learning unit this has become a reality.

This is a whole-community effort

Just as the Mobile Learning Unit blog says below: The goal: to use a whole-community approach to bring high-technology learning and digital citizenship skills to students and their families. We want more than merely high-quality access and devices for our students - we want to build the knowledge and skills necessary to address the complex community challenges in today’s digital age. Every Student. Every Day. Prepared for Success. We can't wait to share with ride with you! ​

We visited Wakonda Elementary's Open House on September 14th as our first "official" event. Our goals going into the evening were two-fold: (1) To test out basic logistics, like connecting devices to...

You might call me crazy. In the past month I switched to Android after more than 8 years as an iPhone user. I have had every iPhone up to the iPhone 7 Plus. My strategy through the years involved shifting the latest device of the year from me down through the family. It worked well for quite some time. Now my kids are transitioning. My oldest is in college and is now about to shift to her own plan. I am so proud of her for taking on this responsibility. With this in mind, I wanted to learn something new. A new platform. A new experience. Why you might ask?

My Evolution In Computing

So if you have been reading my blogs, you know that I had transitioned from a Mac person for some time to an avid Surface Pro user. You can read this post below.

Digital Inking isn't new. I remember in the mid 90's messing with an Apple Newton that had a stylus and a program called Calligrapher that introduced hand writing recognition. Later when Personal...

After reading the blog post above you might realize that my reason for moving from iOS to Android was not based upon the platform, but on the importance of digital inking. OneNote has become an application that I utilize for major project documentation, team collaboration, and my personal and professional notes. As I work through my day, my primary device isn't my Surface. It is my smartphone. Yes, when I am at a desk, participating in a meeting, or engaging in a Skype session, I am on my Surface Pro. But if you took the time spent, my smartphone has my attention to information when I am on the go.

Why Did I Pick The Samsung Note 8?

The power is in the pen. A staple of the Note line has always been a big screen and the S-Pen. The Note 8's S-Pen is waterproof, more sensitive, and has a smaller tip for easier writing. This would actually be my second Note. Last year I got to briefly experience the Note 7 before trading it in for the iPhone 7 Plus due to the risk of the battery exploding. But that didn't stop me from wanting to move forward with the Note 8 as it was released. The need for authentic input to bring context to content, especially in my current role here in Omaha Public Schools is high. The Note 8 gives this ability with access to the whole Office 365 offerings. Writing notes by hand is definitely the way to go, and OneNote is one of the best note-taking apps around. You can hand write your notes with the S Pen, and save them to the cloud. Once your notes are in the cloud, you can access them on any device that has OneNote onboard, whether it be your PC, tablet, or Note. There’s even a highlighter to mark up the most important things. OneNote includes an option to pin specific notes to your home screen, too, for when you need quick access to your notes.

The Accessories

While waiting for the next iPhone, I kept watching what Samsung would entice us with. Initially, it was the choice of a Samsung Gear 360 or a DEX station. As time progressed, I watched other deals. I think it was when AT&T, of whom we have been customers forever, came up with pre-order a Note 8, get a Gear 3 Frontier watch, and Samsung VR led me to this switch of platforms. The Gear 3 Frontier was a one time cost of $50. Then I used the Samsung Store App to register for the Samsung Gear 360. This gave me a complete experience of a wearable, virtual reality, and 360 camera. I have to say I am surprised by the Gear 3 Frontier watch. It lasts around 2 days on a charge for me and looks more like a watch than my Apple Watch does. Also the Gear 360 Camera makes pretty good 360 shots as well, check it out.

In the end, will I stay with the Note 8. Yes for this year. Only time will tell if I stay. I can say that if Apple were to make the iPhone X with the Apple pencil compatible, I might reconsider. I do miss the apps that I used to use with my iPhone. However most of the apps that are frequently used are cross platform. The biggest reason I moved was the desire to engage with my smartphone the same way I engage with my Surface Pro tablet. That has mostly been driven by OneNote.

Passwords are everywhere! I have so many combinations, many times it is tough to remember which one is used for what app. We all have smartphones today and it compounds this, especially when a new iPhone comes out every year. We have all dealt with it. Is it with a 1 at the end or did I add a 2 now? Wait. Was that the one with the capital letter?

Thankfully, there are technologies out there that can help alleviate this struggle. Single Sign On and network technologies like Identity Services Engine allows for districts to work towards providing a great learning experience for staff and students. I have 4 main reasons for the adoption of these technologies.

#1 It is more secure

Do you know how many web sites on which you have an account? I do. It's over 120. Perhaps, you don't have as many as me, but it might seem like it. That is a lot of information to remember: usernames, email addresses used to register the account, passwords and maybe even the URL for the site. If you are like most online users, you may have just a handful of passwords that you use on several sites. While this makes remembering them easy, it is bad practice. In the last year, there have been several public attacks in which passwords were disclosed by the attackers. If the password you use across several sites was disclosed, an attacker might try to use it for one of your other accounts.

Introduce Single Sign on (SSO)While it appears like a simple measure, single sign-on may dramatically reduce the amount of typing and tapping you do on a mobile phone. Now, when Mrs. Smith wants to read her mail using a web browser, she typically navigates to a webpage like https://www.office.com. For a federated Office 365 domain, Microsoft will not ask for a username and password to log in, but instead redirect the browser to the Identity Provider for authentication.

Where you would probably see this happen in your day to day is when you download a new app or sign up for the first time online to something. You might see these options in the sign up. This uses the same technology. No username and password are exchanged. The information is passed via a token. I want to keep this post as non-technical as possible so I won't get into how this happens.

#2 It saves time

On average, users take 5–20 seconds to log in to an online app. It can take longer if they mistype their username or password and are prompted to reenter them. With SSO in place, manually logging in to online services is avoided. These saved seconds reduce frustration and add up to increased productivity. On the left you see our Office 365 waffle. When we first implemented Office 365 in our district, it was important for user adoption to be high. So when we deployed, we didn't deploy the Office client. The web client requirement meant that users were constantly being exposed to a majority of what we offered. This increased the user adoption of many of the other programs besides the Office 365 suite since we used Clever and Azure AD authentication techniques. Then a SSO requirement for future app adoptions allowed us to insert those tiles in the waffle and giving the user a single experience while also auto rostering their students and classes in the solutions.

For those of you interested in implementing SSO in your district, the Center for Digital Education has a great resource below.

As K-12 and Higher Ed institutions continue their journey from print to digital learning resources, they face a considerable efficiency obstacle - an overwhelming number of usernames and passwords. This Guidebook shows how using Single Sign-on (SSO) helps overcome login challenges and creates efficient access.

#3 It gives focus

Many districts struggle with implementing and sun-setting of software and data solutions. When a district is purposeful in connecting the dots of these solutions to provide best practice, many times when they are not seen as conjoined mostly because to the user they are disparate systems. The login, professional development, and how the app is presented make all the difference in the world to building the communications and story of support.

#4 It provides a different highway for information

Networks are evolving. We depend so much on them today. Network convergence is the efficient coexistence of telephone, video and data communication within a single network. The use of multiple communication modes on a single network offers convenience and flexibility that are not possible with separate infrastructures. The mediums are changing as well. We power devices over the wire now and wireless is becoming the end user experience standard for internet activity. Mobility is driving this.

In Omaha Public Schools, we are transitioning. Planned Obsolescence is driving more mobile devices as we adopt a mobile first strategy. As a result, our wireless needs to evolve to accommodate this.

In the diagram below, you can see that in the old wireless strategy, we presented different wireless IDs but technically were on the same network.

This causes traffic related problems as you can see. No matter what kind of traffic traverses down the network, they have the same contention. The same path. Network security isn't a priority. It isn't aware of identities either.

With Identity Services Engine, the network is identity aware. It is device aware. It is also medium aware - voice, video, data, etc. It also creates paths for downloadable access control lists for security. Simplified access across wired, wireless and virtual private network connections. Policies are cascaded across all types of access points and enforced by software-defined segmentation. This is what we are moving to. It allows for BYOD and 1:1 district deployed environments to act on the same networks.

Conclusion

In the end, it is about learning. These things are back end technologies. Not seen. But implemented properly, will provide efficiencies in time, and present multiple solutions with clarity, all while being secure.

What you see day to day, social media, news, games. We are all connected. Mobile computing and the Internet is making this happen. As we progress down this technological path, it's important to look at what's next to see where we might bring purpose. Without purpose in these devices, we will find ourselves in the living room with everyone just looking at their smartphones. Does this ring a bell? Enter the world of immersive tech, augmented and virtual reality. Virtual reality isn't just a view master for your video games. It's an entirely new medium whose true purpose is slowly being realized.

Let Me Clarify. I'm Inexperienced In This Area.

Recently we were invited to the Microsoft Store in Kansas City to participate with Washburn University in some VR activities. It opened my eyes to some opportunities that I would have otherwise dismissed. I got to enter new active experiences with the VIVE, Oculus Rift, and the new Mixed Reality device from HP. Microsoft is making a hard push into the mixed reality segment with Windows 10 as the platform of choice. Many of these headsets are much cheaper than their VR counterparts. Prices are around $399.

Here were a couple of videos we took as a part of the experience

So Where Does This Fit In The Classroom?

How we currently test new programs and solutions in Omaha Public Schools is through our Compass Program Adoption. This is lead by Eileen Heller, and many of the tiles in Office 365 you see today have come from that. Microsoft Classroom, Teams, and ClassFlow are great examples of Compass projects that the district ended up adopting into the classroom.

This last year at ISTE, there was a session on VR that described this taxonomy as to how to approach it in lessons and learning experiences. Here is the link to that session. Special shoutout to Eileen for sharing this with me.

As you can see there are many ways to consume media through virtual reality and that might be the only aspect you can see. That was how I had been before I experienced it first hand. After going through climbing a wall, exploring the solar system, and even looking into the sun, content in this will be key. In this week's research after the visit I found that many classes have used VR tools to collaboratively construct architectural models, recreations of historic or natural sites and other spatial renderings. Instructors also have used VR technology to engage students in topics related to literature, history and economics by offering a deeply immersive sense of place and time, whether historic or evolving. It is our job as educators to seek an ever-expanding immersive landscape, where students engage with teachers and each other in transformative experiences through a wide spectrum of interactive resources. In this educational reality, VR has a definitive place of value.